Toronto Foodist

In a desperate attempt to get out of the apartment this past week, I decided to have lunch at a newish restaurant in downtown, Cheesewerks, for some "artisan grilled cheese." I do love my grilled cheese, in a variety of formats, and the Beijing sandwich was hard to resist!

Pretty much everything listed in the Beijing seemed like a great idea for a grilled cheese, especially a more non-traditional one. I was a little caught off guard by the $13 price tag for a sandwich and potato chips, so I was expecting a lot from this sandwich.

The chips were actually a surprise, I thought it was just a sandwich at first since the menu board in the restaurant didn't hint at a side being included with a sandwich. I was happy to discover that when I couldn't order any juices (they only had homemade sodas, and while they did sound tasty, I'm not a fan of fizzy drinks), the water I ended up getting was free and unending in a big glass decanter. It was super hot that day in Toronto... has it has been for days, so I was a bit dehydrated by the time I got there. The sandwich was awesome! The bread was nice and thick and had a great crunch to counteract the gooey cheese and mostly soft BBQ pork. Some of the pork pieces were a little too thick, but they tasted great none the less.


On a side note, Summerlicious is back! From July 6th to the 22nd in the Tdot, several restaurants offer a fixed price lunch and dinner menus as a way to bring in us cheap people for a meal!

Some friends and I are getting a short list together of places for lunches and dinners, we love Summerlicous, and its snowy counterpart, Winterlicious! In the past I've been to place like Canoe, Spice Route and 360 at the CN Tower, the tower was great for the view too! Hopefully we'll we enjoying the spoils of the restaurants soon!

Re-writing my thesis proposal. Again. Lovely.

Grilled Cheese? Yes, please.

It's not a new recipe, but it's still a good one. It's also the first recipe I ever posted on here. How things circle around again.

Even has a salad to go with it! It's covered in some amazing dressing, but it's still a salad!

And, more writing. And looking forward to James May's Birthday on Monday.

First Food Post!!

My dinner this evening is a recipe that I have shamelessly stolen from a recipe found on the Toronto Star website. It's basically a fancy grilled cheese that uses two of my favorite things in the culinary world, mushrooms and garlic. It also has apples, and apples and cheese is always good!

Grilled Cheese with Mushrooms & Green Apple

1 tbsp (15 mL) each: olive oil, butter

6 oz (170 g) cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced [Can throw in white mushrooms as well]

1 clove garlic, minced

Kosher salt + pepper to taste

4 slices sourdough bread (from the middle of loaf) [I use white bread since I can't go through an entire loaf of sour dough before it goes off]

8 tsp (40 mL) mayonnaise (preferably Hellman’s)

4 sprigs thyme [I have used dried thyme and just sprinkle it over the Mayo side of the bread when the sandwich is on the pan]

6 oz (170 g) old white cheddar, sliced

1/4 Granny Smith apple, cored, thinly sliced

In large fry pan, heat oil and butter over high heat. Add mushrooms. Cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in garlic. Cook until mushrooms are browned and tender, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Lay out bread. On one side of each slice, spread 2 tsp (10 mL) mayo and press with thyme sprig. Flip two slices over and arrange single layer of cheese on top. Top with cooked mushrooms then apple. Place another layer of cheese on top of apple. Top with bread slices, thyme facing out.

Heat large cast-iron skillet or fry pan over medium-high. Add sandwiches. Cook until bottoms are nicely browned. Turn heat down to medium; carefully flip sandwiches. Cook, pressing down with spatula, until other side is brown and cheese has melted. Remove and discard thyme. Cut in half and serve.

Makes 2 large servings.

I half the recipe and make a lunch or one serving of dinner. Throw some cherry tomatoes and some chips on the side = awesome dinner!

Original posting to The Star: http://www.thestar.com/living/food/recipes/article/800397--grilled-cheese-with-mushrooms-green-apple